Month: April 2024

Meet Nora Armstrong from Scandals and Mercies by Kathleen Rouser

~ Kathleen Rouser ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Tell us something about where you live: 

I live in a little town called Stone Creek in southeast Michigan, where there are several lovely lakes and a mill pond. I like to walk by the pond and think sometimes. One time I ran into James Cooper there, but I don’t want to talk about that now.

Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name?

It makes me laugh. Would you believe it means “shining light?” I’m nothing of the sort. I’m just plain, simple Nora Armstrong. Though my mama did once tell me that she named me that because I had such light blonde hair when I was born, and I still do.

Do you have any dreams for the future?

More than anything I want to be a teacher, but my Aunt Gert and Uncle Edmund wanted me to go to finishing school, hoping I would attract a rich husband. I love teaching Sunday school. The children are so sweet. Mrs. Myles let me help at the orphanage when I needed a place to go. My friend, Sophie McCormick, suggested I teach music instruction there with her. At least then I will be able to be a teacher in a way though I haven’t gone to normal school.

Everybody wonders why you’re avoiding the newspaperman, James Cooper. Do you care to tell us why? 

He isn’t the most trustworthy person. I mean Sophie forgave him for betraying her. She’s so kind. But I’m not ready to do that yet. That’s all I’m saying for now. There’s something about him. I keep thinking about him and well, it’s annoying. 

But I’ve also heard you liked him at one time?

Oh, bother, you shouldn’t listen to idle gossip. At one time I thought we cared about each other, but that’s just water under the bridge now. Besides, Aunt Gert doesn’t want me to have anything to do with James…or his Aunt Phoebe. After all, she used to be a vaudeville entertainer, and Aunt Gert thinks both that and journalism are rather scandalous professions.

Who are the special people in your life?  

I miss my mother and father, and brother and sisters. We were once so close, but then Aunt Gert offered to pay for my education, give me a nice home, and fancy clothing. You see, they don’t have any children of their own, and they need my help. Plus, on the farm I was just an extra mouth to feed.

But Stone Creek has so many dear people in it. Sophie and Reverend McCormick, the reverend’s sister, Maggie, and her blended family. And Mrs. Myles is ever so kind to me. I feel less alone when I’m with those dear people. Don’t tell anyone, but my sister, Lynnie, is at Hope’s Place, the home for unwed mothers right now. At least I get to see her occasionally, but Aunt Gert can’t ever know about it! 

Is there anything else you want to share with us?

I thought I knew all the answers about being a believer in Christ, but I realize I still have so much to learn about trusting God in the difficult situations of life. 

Thank you for visiting with us at Novel PASTimes today, Nora.

Thank you for having me. 

Kathleen Rouser is a multi-published, award-winning author of historical and contemporary Christian romance. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers. She resides in southeast Michigan, a location which she often uses in her novels, with her hero and husband of forty-some years and two sweet cats who found a home in their empty nest.  

Find her at her website: http://kathleenrouser.com where you can sign up for her newsletter and receive a free book!

Find Scandals and Mercies. on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Introducing Harl Adams from The Rejected Mail-Order Bride by Greta Picklesimer

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Name’s Harl Adams. I was born, raised and live in Harrisville, Kentucky in the southeastern part of the state. It’s pretty with rolling hills and mountains. I own and work the family apple orchard on our land. I enjoy the work. It keeps me occupied and helps keep my mind from thinking over things that happened and that I done in the war of the states. I’m not proud of what I done—killing men for the cause, but it’s what orders made me do. My father and me was on our way to sign up to enlist for the north when some renegade southern sympathizers cut him down. He took a bullet to the heart and dropped right there beside me. He was dead before he hit the dirt. I still have nightmares about it and headaches. I take each day as it comes and I don’t want to talk about that part of my life anymore. 

I live on the old homestead with my mother. She keeps an eye on me and me on her. She’s a sweet woman. She keeps hoping that when I marry I’ll settle down on the place with her. Marriage is the furthest thing on my mind. I haven’t been lucky in that way. Every time I find me a girl, she up and marries someone else. I’ve been in love twice in my life. One time to a girl I went to school with and one time to the new school teacher. Maybe the Lord don’t have marriage in the books for me. Then again I hope that ain’t the case. 

The other day I met a woman come down from Michigan to marry up with that town scoundrel, Cletus Tooth. She didn’t know what a scoundrel he was or she wouldn’t a come all this way. He took one look at her size and left her and her trunk standing on the train platform. Cletus threw her picture in the dirt at my feet as I was loading sacks of grain for the animals on the farm. He told me he left her there and didn’t want no part of her. So, I went over to the train depot and found her. Since she had come down on the last train for the day, I offered to buy her a room over at the hotel. She accepted. That night, we had us an ice storm to beat all ice storms. In the morning, she went out to check when the next train would be due, but fell and sprained her ankle. The doctor thought it would be best if she could recuperate with a family in the area is how mama and me got her to come stay with us. On the ride over to our place, she told me she doesn’t believe in God. I don’t know what to say about that. 

My deepest desire is to be married, but I think I need to keep on looking. This woman, Rose Henderson, ain’t no match for me lessen she turns her heart over to the Lord. I think the Lord’s got His job cut out for Him in that area. She’s a good woman and all once you get past all her lying and such, but being good don’t mean you’re saved.

Author Greta Picklesimer is Michigan born and raised by Kentucky transplanted parents. Besides writing, Greta spends time working on her scrapbook/art journal, reading audiobooks and dreaming up her next novel. She is owned by one rescue cat by the name of Pearlie Blue who was named after one of her father’s favorite Bluegrass songs. Greta spent many happy summer vacations with her family visiting relatives in the hills of Kentucky. She was so impressed by those visits, that her books are set in Kentucky. By day, Greta works as an office assistant. At night, she writes.

Meet Isabel Neumann from Seashells in my Pocket by Terri Vanguard

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Tell us about where you live in Brazil.

I grew up in Florianópolis, a German community in Brazil’s south. It had been like living in Germany, my father says. Hundreds of thousands of Germans settled there. My brother and I attended German schools and everyone spoke German.

When another war with Germany came, the Brazilian government prohibited the German language. German pilots lost their jobs with German or Italian airlines. My father operates his own air cargo business with three planes, so he remains independent. We moved to Recife to avoid the German enclave.

My parents live in a beachfront house where I could collect seashells for my art projects, but I never felt at home there. Recife is a like a foreign country. Like going from a German town to an old Portuguese city near the equator. The people are an ethnic mix, but I felt out of place. People stared at me, or my blonde hair.

Now you work at an American air base in Natal. Did your father’s occupation as a pilot have anything to do with that? 

Oh, goodness. I never thought of that. I suppose it did. I understand flying terminology. I enjoy flying. It’s a familiar environment.

The air base is a lot different from the airport where Papa flies. All these young men away from home and wanting women’s company. Most are nice, but some are awfully bold and rude. I made the mistake of telling my parents about one incident where a fellow was convinced he was my dream come true. Now they worry.

Tell us about your job.

I calculate load distribution on the cargo planes. If too much weight is placed forward, the plane could nosedive. Too much weight in the rear causes the nose to pull up, the airplane stalls, and falls to earth. If the cargo shifts in-flight, same results. Or if the cargo isn’t shifted as the fuel load burns off, the plane would unbalance.

Correctly loading an aircraft doesn’t require a genius, just a bit of mathematical ability. It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle (which I enjoy doing).  My boss likes to say that I swallowed a calculator. I don’t understand what the big deal is. Cargo distribution is all about simple math.

Easy for some people. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not on duty?  

Go to the beach! I love the seashore, I love the ocean. I can stand in the surf and watch the waves roll in endlessly. The Bible says when the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, there will no longer be a sea. I can’t imagine. Heaven is supposed to be perfect, but no sea?

While I’m at the shore, I collect seashells. I had jars and boxes full of them, and my twin brother said, “Do something with them.” So I started making pictures using shells as flower petals. Now I make all kinds of shell creations and people buy them!

Have you visited Germany?

No. My dad grew up in Germany. He flew biplanes in the Great War. He moved to Brazil because of the chaos in Germany after that war, and pilots and flying were restricted by the Allies. He’s always told us stories about growing up in Heidelberg. He brought his books of photographs. Germany looks beautiful. I would love to have visited, but Papa was leery of the political situation.

My aunt invited my brother and me to attend school in Heidelberg. Marcos went, and the Germans tried to put him in their army. We were fortunate he got away. Maybe someday I’ll visit, but I feel no urgency to go. 

What is this fascination with Cypress Gardens I’ve heard about?  

My cousin sent postcards from Cypress Gardens and it’s beautiful. Imagine being in a flower garden all day. It must be a feast of color and beauty. It’s not like being at the seashore, of course, but it’s a close second. I haven’t been to America yet, and I know the whole country isn’t like Cypress Gardens, but they represent America to me. Daniel visited the Gardens when he had a day off while in Miami, and he brought me a book. He said they’re beautiful and I’ll like them.

Tell us about Daniel.

Oh, goodness. He’s gorgeous and smart and funny and kind. Did I say handsome? He’s nice to dogs and children. He has a strong faith. He’s an excellent pilot. My dad met him and thinks well of him. And he loves me. Me!

What do you expect the future will hold for you?  

Milwaukee. That’s where Daniel lives. Far from Brazil and my family. But my dad left home and came to Brazil where he didn’t know anyone, and he thrived. I hope Daniel’s family likes me. I hope I like Milwaukee’s winters. No seashore, but Lake Michigan is there. Best of all, Daniel will be there and I’m sure God will bless us.

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Terri Wangard grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the Lombardi Glory Years. Her first Girl Scout badge was the Writer. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library science, she lives in Wisconsin. Her WWII research included going for a ride in a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Classic Boating Magazine, a family business since 1984, keeps her busy as an associate editor. She also serves on the Genesis and First Impressions contest teams and as secretary of the Wisconsin Southeast chapter.

A Chat with Lily from Joanna Davidson Poltiano’s The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple

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Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Tell us something about where you live.

I live and work in the beautiful St. Anne’s Well Gardens of Bristol. This pleasure garden, once a healing springs, is a small haven in the midst of a bustling seashore town that actually contains—hidden away—an entire film production outlay. The old pump house has become the workshop of a brilliant producer, where he tints and cuts and splices film strips to create an illusion grander than his magic shows. Then, ifhttps://amzn.to/3Qc8xPJ one is brave enough to venture through the woods and up the hill, he would happen upon the most unexpected house made entirely of glass. That is where the films are set, on a rotating foundation, so that he might capture natural light from any angle, any time of the day.

I spend my days in that glass house, which grows quite warm in summer, pretending to be a fairy or a fair maiden. Then I spend my spare time buried in that pump room, splicing and tinting films with Smith and his wife. It’s a beautiful place to create, and I love it here. 

I shouldn’t be telling you this part, but I have a history in this place. When I was a girl, this place was my haven. I came here for the stories from an old rose gardener, and for escape. I did not like my real life in those days, so I lived in a fantasy one at St. Anne’s.

Is there anything special about your name? 

I chose the name Lily simply because the flower reminded me of what I’d like to become. Elegant, pure, and lovely. It’s the simplest name I’ve chosen so far, and it has stuck with me the longest. The name I was given, which I cannot divulge, was bestowed in honor of my grandmother. I rather like that, and I hope I can use that name again one day.

Who are the special people in your life?

I haven’t had anyone special in my life since Gordon Makepiece told me stories as a child. I suppose Gypsy Lee has been a boon to me and Mr. Smith, the illusionist, but that’s mostly because he needs me. And there’s something lovely about being needed. 

However—and you’ll have to keep this quiet—there’s a man. He appeared in the gardens one night for a show, and I all but kidnapped him. I pulled him into a waltz and had him spinning and twirling toward the woods, then running up an unseen path. And ever since then, I have felt as though he’s done the same to me. Twirling and spinning until I can’t see straight, then darting up a dark path to an unknown destination. And I’ve wondered ever since if it was I who roped him into a dance that first night… or if it was all his doing.

What are you most afraid of?

Leaking my real name. I’m terrified I’ll give it out without thinking, though it’s been years since I’ve used it. Or perhaps someone who knows it will happen upon me. That wouldn’t happen though, I don’t think. I’ve been ever so careful to cover my tracks.

Do you have a cherished possession?

There’s a large, inviting, leather-bound book of fairytales that I would pay handsomely to have back. The illustrations are mine, and the stories belong to the dearest person in the entire world. What I wouldn’t give to hear his voice again. Better yet, to hear the stories told in his voice, rather than on the page. Every time I turn those pages, I hear his voice in my memories and my heart absorbs everything he’d meant to tell me in those fairytales. But the guilt overwhelms me so much that I haven’t opened that book in years. Whatever became of the writer, I do not know.  

What do you expect the future will hold for you?

I feel I could succeed in any position, with my history. I’m an actress now, but I’ve been a milkmaid, a governess, a boy in the army, and even a lady’s companion. Next, I could be a pirate—that does sound amusing. Perhaps an illusionist.

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Joanna Davidson Politano is the award-winning author of Lady
Jayne Disappears, A Rumored Fortune, Finding Lady Enderly, The
Love Note, A Midnight Dance, and The Lost Melody. She loves tales
that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives and is
eager to hear anyone’s story. She lives with her husband and their
children in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan.

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